Tag Archives: martinez

The BBC recently predicted that Belgium would win the World Cup. One of the factors that prompted this argument was the efficiency of their defence. Presumably this was based on their record in the qualifiers: six goals conceded in 10 games. Over half of those games were against opposition such as Estonia, Cyprus and Gibraltar.… Read More »

When Roberto Martinez opened his press conference earlier today, he could have said, ‘The players who got us to Russia have done a great job but as a country we are lucky enough to have one of the game’s top midfielders who didn’t participate much in the qualifiers. Radja Nainggolan can come into the squad… Read More »

Martinez is here to stay Just before midnight on Thursday, the Belgian FA made – i.e. leaked – a shock announcement. Roberto Martinez would be extending his stay as coach of the Belgian team for a further two years. They’d previously said they would evaluate his performance only once the Russian dust had settled. Martinez… Read More »

Belgium face Cyprus tonight in their final World Cup qualifying match. With tickets for Russia guaranteed, all eyes will be on Jan Vertonghen – who will become the most-capped Belgian international (97 caps) – and on the number of goals that Belgium score. Belgium have scored 39 so far in these qualifying rounds, while the… Read More »

Today, Roberto Martinez will reveal his first Belgium squad after replacing Marc Wilmots in the summer. The main interest will be on the number of new faces he may bring in. If Martinez wants an injection of youth, the best bets seem to be Anderlecht’s Youri Tielemans, Mönchengladbach’s Thorgan Hazard and Club Brugge’s Bjorn Engels.… Read More »